


Youth

by kinneyb



Category: Queer as Folk (US)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-17
Updated: 2016-07-17
Packaged: 2018-07-24 12:41:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7508695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kinneyb/pseuds/kinneyb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Justin is seventeen, he gets a job at Liberty Diner. Soon after he meets Brian Kinney.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Youth

**Author's Note:**

> i'm sorry for the shitty description but i've been working on this for days now and i'm so excited to finally be sharing part 1 (there will, if all goes as planned, only be 2 parts). it's basically an au where justin meets brian in a different way but otherwise it closely follows canon. this chapter is legit 5k+ words which is the longest chapter i think i've ever written but hopefully it's interesting enough you guys can get through it! please if you comment on any of my stories let it be this one <3

The day Justin entered the Liberty Diner for the first time ever, he thought he might just be making the biggest mistake of his tiny seventeen year old life. Not only did dozens of heads turn and look at him with interest (mostly the men) or distaste (mostly the women) but a large woman with a bright red wig and a little too much jewelry immediately approached him.

She popped her gum then smiled. "What's a little thing like you doing here?"

Justin might've been insulted if he wasn't so intimidated. "Uh," he remembered the paper in his hand and quickly unfolded it, pointing. "This."

The woman - he noticed the tag on her shirt said Debbie - glanced at the paper. "Oh," she sounded excited. "Here for the busboy position?"

Justin looked at the paper again. He remembered telling his mom he was looking for a job, he remembered finding a rolled up newspaper in the park when he was watching Molly play with her friends. Out of mere curiosity, he had picked it up and unfolded it and flipped through the pages boredly.

Then there it was; a big advertisement for Liberty Diner.

Young or not, Justin wasn't completely out of the loop. He had heard about Liberty Avenue a lot, usually from his dad and his friends, joking about all the 'faggots and dykes' that frequented the area. It didn't take long for Justin to realize Liberty Avenue was the gay distract of Pittsburgh.

It took him way less time deciding he wanted to apply for the job.

It seemed like perfect timing, with him just realizing his sexuality and all.

Shaking his head, he looked back up at the woman and smiled. "Yes, ma'am."

She laughed, cackled really. "Don't call me that, honey, I'm Debbie." Then she paused, and Justin realized she was waiting for his name.

"Justin," he said quickly, folding the paper back up and shoving it in his pocket. "So... do I need to like... do an interview or something?"

It was probably pretty obvious he'd never had a job before, and he wouldn't be surprised if she turned him away.

But then she grinned like a cat who'd just caught a mouse. "Nope, you got the job."

Blinking, Justin considered for a second if he was dreaming. "Just like that?"

She patted his shoulder. "This place isn't really the high point of restaurants," she said, and he noticed she wasn't quiet about it - must be a well known fact. "The thing that keeps people coming? Late hours, location, and cute busboys." She winked, and Justin found himself smiling. "When can you start?"

He shrugged.

"How about now?"

"Sure."

Justin watched her as she reached behind the counter and pulled out a tiny apron, handing it over. It was obviously well used, covered in thousands of little stains. Then she went fully behind the counter and returned with a cart, small enough it easily maneuvered through the diner. Two buckets were on the cart, one with a rag in it.

"Let's see how you do," Debbie said lightly, nudging him. "But I doubt you could be as bad as the previous guy."

Justin smiled, already tying the apron around his waist. He glanced pointedly at the stains. "You're probably right."

******

For the first few hours, nothing much happened. First, he called his mom and (admittedly) lied about the job he had gotten, said it was a restaurant in a different part of town. After that he just spent the hours cleaning tables, getting big tips (a lot more than he'd expected) then repeated the same routine until it was almost midnight. Debbie approached him around then, patting his arm. "You sure you don't wanna head off yet, honey? I can handle the rest."

Justin shrugged. "I don't mind staying a little longer."

"Only if you're sure," Debbie said.

Then the door rang and she looked away, and almost instantly her face brightened. Justin watched with curiosity as a group of men sat at one of the booths and Debbie approached them. He knew right away the man who looked way too young to be considered a man was her son.

Did she tell him? No, but there's just a certain way mothers treat sons and that was it.

Justin didn't think he was anything special but he knew if he was the son of Debbie he was probably a good person. Taking his eyes off him, he focused on the three other men. One was old, so old Justin barely paid him any mind. The guy sitting beside him wasn't as old but he was far from Justin's type, not that he had a definite type. He might've realized he was gay a couple weeks back but that didn't make much time for experimenting.

The last man - he was the one worth looking at.

Before he could stop his feet, he was standing beside Debbie.

"Who's this?" The man who was far from Justin's type asked. "He's cute," he dragged out the last word, smiling.

Debbie turned a little, patting Justin on the back. "This here is the new busboy."

Justin felt proud at first then realized being a busboy at a shitty diner in the gay district wasn't exactly an achievement.

"I'm sure he's getting paid well," the old guy said.

Justin was pretty sure that was meant to be a compliment. He smiled a bit.

Then the hot one looked at him. Though to be more accurate, he sized him up. "Shit, Deb, did you snatch him out of a nest?"

Justin blinked. What the fuck did that mean? He smiled awkwardly.

"I - " Debbie paused, pursing her lips. "Actually I don't know how old he is."

Suddenly things clicked. Justin puffed his chest out. "I'm twenty one." He didn't really know why he felt the need to lie, but he did. It surely had nothing to do with the hot guy still looking at him, who hot or not was no doubt older than eighteen."Just turned."

The guy - the hot one - lifted a single eyebrow. "Okay," he said, and he sounded convinced but then, "what year were you born?"

Justin did the math in his head. "Nineteen seventy nine."

"Bullshit," the man replied, "you had to think before you answered that."

Justin hadn't been expecting that. He stood, silent.

Apparently that was the same as admitting his guilt. The man seemed pleased, smiling as Justin imagined a shark might - if sharks could smile. "So how old are you really?"

Justin wiped his hands off mindlessly on his apron. "Fine, twenty."

The man lifted both eyebrows this time. Justin scowled.

"Nineteen."

One of the other men snickered. Justin was pretty sure it was 'far from his type' guy.

When the hot one didn't back down, he sighed. "Eighteen."

"What is this?" He asked. "A missile launch?"

Justin huffed, feeling his cheeks grow hot. "Seventeen. I'm seventeen."

Then he felt Debbie's hand on his arm, squeezing. "You just have to be sixteen to work here, Sunshine. Why'd you lie?"

The one he was pretty sure was her son laughed now, no doubt at the nickname. Justin pushed his tongue in his cheek. "I don't know," he answered honestly but he couldn't take his eyes off the man still looking back at him. When he finally felt like he had control back, he looked away. "I gotta go - uh - do something."

He winced at his own lame excuse and scurried off.

When he was gone, Debbie reached out and smacked one of the men on the back of his head. "Brian! Why'd you have to embarrass him like that?"

Brian rubbed the back of his head. "I was just fucking with him."

Debbie rolled her eyes. "Just be easy on him, will you? He's new."

******

When Justin got home that night, he immediately ran over to see Daphne. He had so much to tell her.

A couple hours later, they were on the floor, talking and giggling. He'd told her almost everything so far - about getting the job and meeting this nice but weird woman who worked there named Debbie and the guy who was probably her son and his friends; the guy who wasn't quite his type but not terrible on the eyes and the old guy who looked to be pretty friendly with him. He was saving the best for last.

"And the last guy," he sighed dreamily, resting his head on one of her fluffy pink pillows, "was gorgeous."

She sat up a little straighter. "What did he look like?"

Justin could picture him perfectly even now, hours later. "He had dark brown hair, hazel eyes - and his body," he grabbed her hands " - it was like something straight out of a porno, Daph."

"Gay."

He blinked, and she squeezed his hands, grinning.

"It was like something gay out of a porno," she corrected.

Justin couldn't believe she looked proud of such a lame jake. He rolled his eyes.

She gently swatted at his shoulder. "Fine, it was bad but I'm tired."

Then Justin suddenly got a brilliant idea, the best idea he'd had in a long time. "You should come with me tomorrow to the diner." He grabbed her hands again and squeezed tight this time, and she giggled. "Maybe he'll be there and you can see for yourself that he's, no doubt, a God."

"Okay," she said, biting her lip. "Let's do it."

******

To say Justin was disappointed would be an understatement. Daphne had lingered around the diner for three hours and during the entire time there'd been no sign of the gorgeous man or even any of his friends (not that Justin cared much about them). After his shift ended, he yanked off his apron and plopped down at the booth she had claimed as her own hours earlier.

"I guess he isn't coming."

Daphne took a sip of her milkshake. "No shit."

Sighing, he leaned his head back and glanced up at the ceiling. It really needed to be cleaned. He was surprised no customers had complained about dust landing in their food yet. Debbie was right when she'd said people really didn't come here for the food.

Then he perked up. "What if he isn't here because he's somewhere else?"

Daphne looked at him oddly. "Again, no shit."

Waving her off, he jumped up and walked over to the counter. When Debbie noticed him, she smiled. "Sunshine, you haven't left yet?"

He smiled back, suddenly feeling positive his idea would work. "Last night, those guys came in." Debbie looked confused. "You know, the group with the one who asked me how old I was." Then her face brightened with recognition. "Right, I was wondering, who are they?"

She laughed a little. "My son and his friends. Most of them are good people but then there's Brian..."

Justin held back his excitement. "Brian?"

She sighed. "He's the one who asked about your age. He has a good heart, but he's trouble."

Justin decided it was probably best if he continued holding back his excitement. "Do you know where they usually go? I mean, around here." When she narrowed her eyes with suspicion, he tried his best playing it off. "It's just I've never really... experienced the night life here and I'd really like to, and I just assumed your son would know the best places and maybe he's told you."

He resisted batting his eyelashes. It worked on his mom but he wasn't so sure Debbie would appreciate it.

"Do you think I was born yesterday?" Debbie asked. "You're after Brian."

Justin held his resolve. "No, really."

Nodding slowly, she gestured lazily out the window. "Babylon, a few blocks down. It's the most booming place around."

He grinned. "Thanks."

"But," Debbie said, her voice firm now, "do stay away from Brian, you hear me?"

Justin chewed on the inside of his cheek. "I told you I'm not - "

"Interested, yeah, I've heard that one before." Sighing, she reached across the counter and patted his cheek. "Just remember, good heart or not, the man is trouble and you shouldn't get involved in nothing like that. Not at your age, at least." Pulling back, she smiled. "But don't think I'm a killjoy, go out and have as much fun as you want, just aim for the right kind of people, will ya?"

Justin answered with a smile.

******

Daphne dropped him off at Babylon. "Listen, I really got to get back."

He stared at her through the car window, suddenly wondering if this really was such a good idea. "Are you sure you can't come in?" He pouted, one of his signature moves that usually worked on Daphne.

"If you want to do it tomorrow," she offered.

Apparently she was growing immune. "No, I'll just - have your phone on, okay?"

She reached out the window and grabbed his hand, squeezing. "Good luck." She grinned cheekily. "Get a picture if you can."

Justin rolled his eyes.

After she'd drove off, he turned and focused his attention on, as Debbie had called it, the most booming place around. She wasn't joking, he realized, noting the two lines that were so long they circled around the corner of the building and disappeared out of view.

On top of that, he could hear the music blaring from outside, so loud it was almost shaking the ground. Almost.

Breathing in deep, he walked to the back of the line and waited.

A part of him was pretty sure he wouldn't actually get in before the night was over, considering how long the line was in front of him. After about thirty minutes, he started debating if he should just leave and try again some other night. Then he felt a hand suddenly on his shoulder, jarring him from his thoughts.

He didn't need to turn to know it was a man's; it was strong and the fingers were long, the nails cut short.

Preparing himself mentally, he slowly turned. Disappointed would, once again, be an understatement. The man was not, by any means, easy on the eyes. His hand was still on his shoulder as he grinned with crooked, brown teeth. "Hey, do you really wanna wait in this line all night?"

Justin's interest was immediately piqued. He glanced at the long line again then looked back. "No, not really."

The man grinned even wider, squeezing his shoulder. "There's a back entrance, usually used for the workers but you can probably sneak in." When Justin looked skeptical, he assured him, "I always do."

One last look at the line and Justin was convinced. He really didn't have all night.

"Just follow me," the man said as he started walking. "My name is John, by the way."

Justin did as he was told, lingering behind by a step or two. "I'm Justin," he said, not very interested in knowing this man's name at all. He was just, in truth, using him for entry to the club. Once he was in, he'd ditch him as fast as humanly possible, which still wouldn't be fast enough for him.

After about three minutes, he leaned to the side and looked ahead; they were almost at the back of the building.

"Hey, this entrance - where is it exactly?"

Then John stopped so suddenly Justin couldn't help colliding with his back, groaning a little at the impact. His nose was throbbing. Blinking, he stepped back. "What the fu - " Before he could even finish the last word, John was smashing him up against the side of the building.

Now his nose wasn't the only thing throbbing. "Get off me!"

John promptly ignored him, his hands already going for the zipper of his jeans. Justin froze, his mind replaying one word on repeat.

Shit, shit, shit.

As soon as he'd gotten his zipper undone and pushed his pants down, he saw a hand grab John by the hair and yank him back. Justin didn't care to look at who had intervened. He rushed to pull his pants back up, relief and fear mixing so heavily he felt like he was going to be sick.

John yelled something - it might've been 'fuck you' - before running off.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Justin froze again. He recognized that voice right away. Slowly he looked up. "Brian."

He wasn't too surprised when Brian looked caught off guard. Actually Justin was kind of proud. He didn't really know this man much if at all but he didn't seem like the type to be caught off guard by much. "Busyboy?" Justin watched him as he took a step back, a rumble in the back of his throat that sounded a little like a laugh. Or maybe a scoff, maybe both. "Deb would have a cow if she knew what just happened."

Justin licked his lips, shrugging. "I won't tell her if you won't."

He was definitely proud when Brian paused, looked at him for a solid two minutes then gave a small hint of a smile. "Listen, I know you're young and naive, but you've got to know which guys to fuck with and which guys you need to fucking avoid like the plague before going in here," he pointed at Babylon with his thumb. "Got it?"

Justin nodded, licked his lips again. "So what about you?"

For a second time Brian looked caught off guard. Justin held back a smile.

"What?"

Justin glanced at the cement, kicked a pebble, mostly just because he wasn't so sure he could hold back a smile for too much longer. So he smiled big, teeth and all, and got the urge out of his system. When he was sure he was safe again, he looked back up. "Are you a guy I should fuck with or a guy I should fucking avoid like the plague?"

Then slowly, almost so slow Justin didn't notice, Brian smiled. He knocked his head in the direction of Babylon. "I gotta get back," he said simply.

Justin watched as he turned, stuffed his hands in his pockets (which, he noted, made the muscles in his forearms tense a little) and started walking away. Justin huffed. He wouldn't be defeated that easy. "Hey," he called, and was thankful when Brian didn't just ignore him. He stopped, looking back at him over his shoulder. "You didn't answer my question."

"Ah," Brian lifted an eyebrow.

For a long moment, he just stared. Justin was pretty sure he wasn't actually going to get an answer.

Then he said, "guess you'll have to figure it out on your own," and gave a little wave.

Justin watched as he vanished around the side of the building. Oh, no problem there.

******

Justin didn't have a shift the next day but he still showed up at the diner after school, just with different goals in mind. After last night's encounter with Brian he'd immediately went back home (he could explore Babylon later) and called Daphne, chatting away about what it meant and what he should do.

They'd both decided he should try and find him again, maybe have a proper conversation.

As it was, Brian didn't even know his name.

When he walked in, he suddenly believed in a higher power when he spotted Brian sitting on one of the stools at the counter, sipping diligently at a mug of coffee. Justin resisted a smile at noticing the briefcase propped up on the counter beside him. A businessman.

"Hey," he greeted, sitting down beside him. He smiled a little, not too big.

He didn't want to seem too eager. Brian seemed like the type who might be scared away by that.

Brian sipped his coffee again, barely glancing at him as he grunted something that sounded vaguely like a greeting.

Then Justin noticed the papers sprawled across the counter in front of Brian (and him). He studied them. Most of the papers had a similar design, showcasing a brand of shoes Justin was pretty sure he'd never be able to afford in his life, but with minor changes. "What are these?"

He hoped he wasn't pushing his luck.

But then Brian sighed, scrubbing his hand over his face. "Avertistments."

Justin nodded slowly, looking up from the papers. Not exactly what he'd been expecting, not from a guy like Brian.

"I work at an ad firm, and this - " Brian gestured lazily " - is my newest project."

Justin glanced back at the papers. "Looks boring."

He was shocked (and a little pleased) when Brian barked out a laugh, a real one. "Tell me about it."

Justin smiled a bit. "So do you just, like, pick one?"

"These are the final drafts," Brian said, resting his elbow on the counter, his chin in the palm of his hand. Justin looked at him, waited. "Basically yes."

"Okay," Justin said, pointing at one of the papers. "This one."

He didn't know anything about advertisment but he did know what appealed to him and what didn't.

It was meant to be a joke mostly. He half expected Brian to laugh. He didn't expect him to pick up the paper and stare at it for a solid three or four minutes. Finally he looked at Justin, the corner of his lips barely upturned in a smile. "Good choice."

Justin bit his lip, stifling a smile.

Then Debbie appeared out of the blue, her eyes narrowed suspiciously. Justin avoided looking at her.

"What do we have here?" she asked, refilling Brian's cup with coffee. "I didn't know you two were friends."

Justin wiggled in his seat, watching Brian.

"Now why would you think we're friends?" Brian replied, sounding mildly annoyed.

Justin winced. Not the best answer.

Debbie rolled her eyes. "Right. Well, isn't it about time you get back to work?"

"Always looking out for me, aren't ya, Ma?" Brian drawled, climbing off the stool. He opened his suitcase and stuffed the papers inside before closing it again. Before he could walk away, Justin stopped him with a wild wave of his hand. When he looked back at him, one eyebrow quirked curiously, Justin gestured at his full cup of coffee.

"Aren't you going to take it with you?"

Brian glanced at the coffee then looked back at him. "You can have it."

Justin blinked, licked his lips. "Okay."

After he left, Justin slowly pulled the coffee in front of him and stared at the light brown liquid.

Debbie let out a huff, a mix of annoyed and amused. "That guy, always just doing what he wants." She looked at Justin. "Honey, if you want coffee, I can get you a fresh cup."

He firmly shook his head no. "I'm fine, best not to be wasteful." Truthfully he didn't give a fuck about being wasteful but it was a nice excuse.

Debbie smiled and pinched his cheek. "You're a good kid, Sunshine."

Justin watched as she walked off before focusing back on the coffee. He lifted the cup and took a small sip before making a face. "Too sweet."

******

Justin didn't see Brian for three days after that. He was just beginning to get a little upset when Daphne snapped him out of it. "You want to see him, right?"

He looked up at her and nodded slowly. "Yeah, a lot."

Grinning, she grabbed his hand and pulled him off the floor. "Okay then, let's try Babylon again."

"But Daph, after what happened last time..."

She gently swatted his shoulder. "I know but I'll be with you this time. We'll be fine."

He stared at her, saw her resolve and finally smiled. He didn't just get his stubborness from his mom, that's for sure.

About thirty minutes later, they were at the bar in Babylon, looking out over the crowd of dancing people. Men, women, but mostly men. Sighing, Justin took a sip of his beer and winced. He really wasn't sure he'd ever like the taste of beer. He watched Daphne do the same.

"I can't believe we got in so fast," Justin muttered.

Daphne shrugged. "It's a work night. People are probably sleeping."

Justin looked out at the crowd again, searching for any familar faces at this point. "I hope the same doesn't go for Brian. Wait, I know that guy!" He pointed at a man dancing wildly between two other men.

Daphne squinted. "There's no way that's Brian." He was cute, but not that cute.

He bumped her with his shoulder. "It isn't, but it's one of his friends. The one I told you about. Uh, not my type guy." He really needed to learn his name.

"Oh," she brightened. "Maybe he knows where Brian is. Go ask him!"

Before he could argue, Daphne shoved him, beaming as she whispered "good luck". He stumbled on his feet for a few seconds, barely stopping himself before he collided with the man known as 'not my type guy'. The guy immediately took his attention off the two men he was dancing with previously.

He studied Justin briefly. "Don't I know you?"

Justin smiled, feeling nervous and excited all at once. "I'm Justin." Then he remembered the man didn't know him by name. "I was just hired as a busboy over at Liberty Diner." The man still looked confused. Smile widening a bit, Justin shrugged. "You called me cute."

Suddenly his eyes sparkled with recognition. "Right!" He took Justin's hand, squeezing. "I'm Emmett."

"Awesome," Justin breathed. "Actually I, uh, I have a question."

Emmett continued smiling, swaying lightly on his feet. "Go for it."

He glanced back at Daphne, who encouraged him with a few enthusiastic gestures. Feeling a little more confident, he looked back at Emmett. "You're friends with Brian, right?"

"Kind of."

Justin pursed his lips. "Well, do you happen to know where he might be?"

Emmett clicked his tongue. "Sweetie, you can do much better than him. Trust me."

This guy was good at the compliments, Justin decided. He smiled bigger. "Thanks, but - "

"But you still want Brian," Emmett finished knowingly, patting his arm. "They all do. He's probably in the back room." Justin watched as he gestured toward the back of the building. "You... have been back there before, right?"

Justin didn't miss a beat. "Of course. Thanks."

"Well, only men are allowed back there," Emmett said, nodding at Daphne. "Just for reference."

"Thanks."

After that, he re-joined the two men he'd been dancing with previously. Justin said a goodbye that he was pretty sure was drowned out by the music before running back over to Daphne. "I think I know where he is." Daphne grinned at him. "But the problem is... it's the back room."

Daphne furrowed her brows. "Okay, and what's the back room?"

Justin shrugged slightly. "I have no idea, but that guy said only men are allowed back there."

"What sexist garbage," but Justin could see Daphne was grinning again. "Well, I'll be here when you get back."

Justin lingered, leaning on the bar. "But..."

"No way," Daphne softly elbowed him in the side. "You're not backing out now. Go back there and find him." Her eyes glistened. "I deserve to know what this mystery guy looks like, you know, specifically after going through alllll this trouble," she singsonged. "So think of it like this, you're doing it for me."

Justin watched her closely for a second. "You're such a bad example."

"I know, and you love it."

******

The second Justin approached the back room, he got a whiff of something odd. A mix of alcohol, which wasn't too different from the rest of the place, and something else. When he got even closer, the second thing he noticed was the noise; muffled moans and whimpers. Then the smell suddenly made sense and he almost gagged.

"Hey, cutie."

He turned and looked at the man who'd just approached him. "Not interested."

When the man laughed, Justin couldn't smell anything but beer. He decided that probably wasn't a good sign. "Come on," the man continued, extending his arms slightly. "You know this is what you came for."

Justin ran his tongue over his teeth. "It really isn't."

He wasn't going to have a repeat of last time. When the man reached out for him, Justin quickly turned, his elbow colliding with the man's nose. He watched the man stumble back a couple steps, cupping his nose and hurling insults. Justin breathed out sharply. "Don't," he said, voice firm, "touch me."

Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. When he saw it was Brian, he relaxed.

"We have got to stop meeting like this," Brian said, addressing him with an amused look before focusing on the man with a bleeding nose. It looked pretty painful. Justin almost felt bad. Almost. When the man looked up and saw Brian, he immediately cowered. "Fuck off."

The man wiped his nose with the back of his hand and gestured at Justin weakly. "Hey, I didn't know he was with you, Kinney. You should keep a better eye - "

Brian took a step in his direction and he quickly went silent. "Fuck off."

This time, he took the warning and ran off.

When he was gone, Justin slowly looked up. Brian was still as gorgeous as he'd remembered. "Thanks."

Brian looked at him. "I just don't see the point in fucking unless all parties involved want to be there." He glanced back at the crowd. "Most people around here don't feel the same." Then he settled his gaze back on Justin, even and unblinking. "Which is exactly why I didn't think a little kid should be playing around in here."

Justin almost puffed his cheeks out before realizing that'd just make him look more childish. "I'm not a kid. I'm almost eighteen."

"Uh-huh," Brian didn't sound convinced. "Who'd you come here with? Is it just you?"

Justin turned and looked back at the bar. Daphne wasn't there. Digging out his phone, he ignored Brian's question for the time being and began typing out a text. He was almost finished with 'where are you?' when his phone suddenly started ringing.

He glanced at Brian, who looked mildly amused, and answered. "Daph, where the fuck are you?"

"My mom called bitching at me about the car! I tried finding you but I couldn't. I thought I could drop off the car and come back for you on foot."

Justin glanced at Brian again. "You don't have to do all that. I can walk back on my own."

There was a long pause. "Are you sure, Justin?"

He continued looking at Brian - gorgeous, beautiful Brian. "I'm sure. I'll call you later."

"Be safe."

When the call ended, he shoved his phone back in his pocket. Brian definitely looked amused now. "Trouble?"

He shrugged. "I came with my friend but she had to go back early. Guess I'll be walking home."

Brian clicked his tongue. "How far?"

Justin wasn't entirely sure. "Just a few blocks. I'll be fine."

He watched as Brian did a little circle then stopped, facing him again. "What do you think?"

Justin blinked, confused.

"Do you see any hot guys?"

Justin slowly looked around, searching the crowd. He saw plenty of hot guys. He turned back and looked at Brian. "No."

"Right," Brian smirked. "So I have nothing better to do. I'll drive you."

******

Justin wasn't sure what kind of vehicle he expected out of Brian, but a little black jeep was perfect.

He sat in the passenger seat, admiring the dash. "This is, uh, really nice. Comfortable."

Brian started up the jeep, glanced at him. Justin was pretty sure he smiled but he couldn't be positive. "I know."

A few minutes later, Justin glanced out the window. "So... you called Debbie 'Ma' earlier - "

He was interrupted by a little huff of laughter. "She isn't really my mom, but she might as well be." Justin watched as the jeep turned a corner. "She practically raised me."

Justin nodded slowly. "What about your real mom?" He chanced a look at Brian, almost immediately regretting it. He didn't look sad, but tense. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

Brian shrugged. "She's a bitch."

"Bitch?" Justin flushed. "God, that's harsh." He had called his mom a lot of things - like annoying or nosey - but never that.

Brian laughed again but this time it was dry, bitter. "Yeah, so was she."

Justin chewed on his lip, looked back out the window. "My mom is nosey and stuff but... she's pretty okay."

"Nosey," Brian muttered, turning down Justin's street. "It probably just means she cares about you."

Justin paused. He'd never really thought of it like that. "Yeah, you're probably right."

"I wish my mom had been nosey."

Justin was positive Brian hadn't intended for him to hear that. He pretended he didn't.

When they pulled up in front of Justin's house, Brian killed the jeep. Justin opened his door and climbed out. "Thanks."

"Hey," Brian called through the window after Justin had closed his door. "Do you work tomorrow?"

Justin nodded. "I think so, yeah."

"Okay," was all Brian said before pulling away from the curb.

******

The next day at work was as boring as possible, Justin was sure of it. He cleaned up after customers, fetched customers water, listened as they told him stories as if he was a friend - not a busboy just doing his job. Eventually it was almost midnight and he got off.

Gathering his things, he waved goodbye to Debbie and the other employees before slipping out the door.

He couldn't even pretend he wasn't disappointed Brian hadn't showed up. Digging through his bag, he pulled out his gloves and shoved them on his hands with a huff. He shouldn't have gotten so worked up last night. Brian hadn't promised him anything, just asked a simple question.

For a brief moment, Justin considered going to Babylon. But he quickly pushed that idea out of his mind and continued on.


End file.
